Simple to make and quite delicious, Grissini the Italian breadsticks are a blank slate just waiting to be enhanced. Make a traditional starter right at home!

Ingredients

2 cups (300 gr) of bread flour

½ teaspoon of sugar

one package (15 gr) of active dry yeast

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (divided)

¾ cup (175 ml) of warm water

1 teaspoon salt 6 gr

poppy seeds, or sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions

In a large bowl mix the flour with the sugar and the dry yeast.

Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the flour, and half cup of warm water. Mix with a spoon.

Dissolve one teaspoon of salt in a quarter cup of warm water. Add it to the dough, and mix with a spoon first until all the water is absorbed. Move the dough to the counter and knead by hand for a few minutes (maybe 5) until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add a bit of water if too hard. Or a bit of flour if too sticky.

Make the dough into a ball and cover in plastic wrap and a kitchen towel to keep warm. Let rise for at least an hour.

Flatten and stretch the the dough into a rectangular shape about ¼ inch thick and 14 x 9 inch. Brush with one tablespoon of olive oil.

Cover again with plastic wrap and let sit for one more hour or longer.

Preheat the oven to 400° F (200° C).

Cut the dough on the shorter side in strips, about ⅓ of an inch (1 cm) wide, using sharp knife or a pizza cutter. Stretch each strip to almost double its size or the length of your baking sheet.

If you'd like, you can sprinkle with sesames or poppy seeds, and roll the breadsticks so the seeds stick to the dough.

Bake the breadsticks for about 12 minutes. Watch carefully while baking. The time can vary based on the thickness of your breadsticks.

Recipe by Honest Cooking at http://honestcooking.com/grissini-italian-breadsticks/